Shopping carts found in retail establishments generally include a child seat that is part of the rear panel of the shopping cart basket. A back support panel is attached to the rear panel, usually on the inside of the basket, thereby reducing the carrying capacity of the shopping cart. A fold down seat portion traverses the back support panel and the rear panel to form the child set proximate the upper portion of the rear panel. Generally, the child seat is arranged so that the child""s legs extend through openings in the back panel. Airport luggage carts have a similar child seat arrangement. However, luggage carts generally weigh less than a shopping cart and are therefore more prone to tip over.
The child seats on shopping or luggage carts only have room for one child. Also, once a child reaches approximately 35 pounds, or is more than approximately 54xe2x80x3 tall, the child seat on these carts starts to be too small and uncomfortable for the child. Additionally, children older than approximately 3 years find these seats confining and often attempt to climb out. Consequently, it is very common to see children riding in the basket portion of the shopping cart or standing on the front edge of the lower frame while gripping onto the basket portion, or standing on the luggage portion of a luggage cart.
Allowing a child to ride in the basket portion of the shopping cart has proven to be extremely dangerous. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, from 1985 to 1996 an annual average of 12,800 children ages five and under were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for falls from shopping carts. In fact, fall-related injuries significantly increased during that period, rising from 7,800 in 1985 to more than 16,000 in 1996. Consumer Product Safety Commission data also show that during 1995 and 1996, two-thirds of the fall victims were treated for head injuries, and more than half of the head injury victims suffered severe head injuries such as concussions and fractures.
While old style shopping carts were constructed of metal, newer carts are utilizing more plastic parts, including cart baskets. Consequently, newer shopping carts generally weigh less than the older metal carts. Since the child seat is generally on the upper portion of the rear panel of the basket portion, a larger child will significantly alter the center of gravity of the cart, especially when the cart is empty. The reported accidents also include injuries resulting from children tipping over the cart by rocking back and forth. Finally, the seats built into shopping carts are not suitable for adults.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,575,250 (Dykes) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,840 (Keller) disclose motorized attachments for shopping carts. However, the motorized units are intended for disabled individuals, not children. The motorized units are cost prohibitive for a broad-based solution to the problem of child injuries relating to shopping carts. Both of the above patents disclose an articulated or pivotal joint between the carrier and the shopping cart that requires the passenger to steer the cart, a design totally impractical for a child passenger. Neither of the devices discussed above are nestable.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 318,550 (Stefano) discloses a cart with an integrally formed occupant portion. The structure of Stefano does not include wheels supporting the rear of the cart and is not a viable option for use with the current inventory of shopping carts. Stefano does not teach nesting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,601 issued to Berge discloses a shopping cart for use with wheelchairs. Berge does not teach nesting. An obvious drawback of the Berge device is that the user must overcome the inertia of both the cart (and it""s contents) and the front portion of the wheelchair, all from a sitting position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,044,801 (Vicany) discloses an occupant propelled shopping cart with pedals 58, 60 for providing the motive force. The rear wheel 24 can be steered using a handle 40. Vicany discloses the cart and the seat as an integral structure without wheels supporting the rear of the cart. Consequently, the structure of Vicany is not a viable option for use with the current inventory of shopping carts. Additionally, most small children and some adults would not be able to operate the pedals and steering mechanism. Finally, it is easy to imagine the difficulty of steering the device of Vicany while a small child riding on the device was manipulating the steering handle.
There are presently millions of conventional shopping and luggage carts in use. A shopping cart costs anywhere from $70.00 to $120.00. One approach to reducing child injuries is to utilize the existing inventory of carts with the passenger carrier disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,823,548 (Reiland et al.); 5,882,021 (Reiland et al.) and 6,022,031 (Reiland et al.), each entitled Child Carrier Accessory Attachable to a Shopping or Luggage Cart. None of the structure disclosed above are nestable. What is needed is a passenger carrier for use with a shopping or luggage cart that permits the cart basket of one cart to nest with the passenger carrier of another cart.
The present invention relates to a passenger carrier attachable to a conventional shopping or luggage cart that does not significantly reduce the overall functionality of the cart. The passenger carrier nests with a cart basket of another cart. The present invention is also directed to an assembly comprising a passenger carrier and a cart. The passenger carrier and cart can be separate attachable components or a unitary structure.
In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a passenger carrier having a seat portion and a cart basket. The apparatus is supported by a first set of wheels near a front portion of the cart basket, a second set of wheel supporting the apparatus generally near a location where the passenger carrier is connected to the cart basket and a third set of wheels supporting the passenger carrier. Only one of the first set of wheels, the second set of wheels and the third set of wheels comprise non-swivel caster wheels. The rest of the wheels are typically swivel casters.
The passenger carrier comprises an upper portion in a first position that can be displaced to a second position to form an opening sized to receive a front portion of another cart basket. The upper portion can rotate upward, downward or side ways. A biasing member can optionally be used to control the movement of the upper portion from the second position to the first position. The upper portion may or may not include the seat portion. The cart can be a shopping cart or a luggage cart.
The present invention is also directed to a method of nesting an apparatus comprising passenger carrier and a cart. A second cart basket is pressed against the upper portion of a first passenger carrier so that the upper portion is displaced to a second position forming an opening sized to receive a front portion of the second cart basket.